Hello later New Year: why did the deputies in St. Petersburg postpone the winter

Deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg tried to approve the beginning of the seasons "in the Petersburg way" — only in the Northern capital. They approved such a bill in the first reading at the end of November. Officially, winter in this region is scheduled to begin on December 5, spring on March 17, summer on June 2, and autumn on September 12. At the same time, each region of Russia has the authority to set its own dates for the change of seasons, depending on climatic conditions, experts said. This, for example, allows consumers to be guaranteed to return winter shoes if they bought them in the summer. However, the start dates of the seasons in St. Petersburg did not correspond to the calendar dates anyway, Izvestia found out. You can find out what mistake the St. Petersburg deputies corrected in the regional legislation in our article.

Winter is postponed

Winter in St. Petersburg will begin on December 5, spring on March 17, summer on June 2, and autumn on September 12. Such a bill on setting the timing of the seasons in the region was adopted in the first reading in the Legislative Assembly of the region. The news caused a wide public outcry — Petersburgers and other residents of the country did not understand why to make changes to the calendar.

However, Izvestia found out that these are not new amendments at all — these dates for the beginning of the seasons have already been in effect in St. Petersburg since the late 1990s. The document received a "new lease of life" due to a technical error.

"The essence of the amendments now lies solely in replacing outdated legal wording," Andrei Malkov, one of the authors of the initiative, a member of the LDPR party, explained to Izvestia. — In the preamble of the law, the words "part two" are replaced by the words "paragraph two", ensuring the legal accuracy and correctness of the application of the law.

He explained that such official dates for the start of the season are necessary to protect consumer rights. They help resolve disputes in warranty cases for seasonal goods. For example, when replacing shoes, outerwear, or car tires, if you buy them in the summer and find a defect in the winter, the warranty will be valid despite the expired return period.

Shoemakers' Season

When such a law was passed in St. Petersburg in 1997, deputy Mikhail Amosov explained that it was initiated by shoe sellers. They noticed that people buy seasonal shoes much earlier than they start wearing them. There were disputes about when to return or change defective goods. It was important for entrepreneurs that the warranty obligations begin to take effect from a clearly defined date.

Each region independently decides on setting the time of the seasons, lawyer Evgeny Stegantsev told Izvestia. According to him, in Moscow, for example, winter begins on November 1, spring — on March 1, summer — on May 1, and autumn — on September 1.

— According to the law, the warranty for seasonal items begins to operate from the first day of the relevant season, and for items purchased during its period — from the moment of purchase, — he explains. — This means that if, for example, winter shoes were purchased in the summer, the warranty period starts from the beginning of the season, that is, in winter.

The expert explained the difference in the dates of the season between Russian cities by the fact that the climatic conditions of the Russian regions differ from each other. For example, when people still go to the beaches in the Krasnodar Territory, snow may already fall in the Far East.

High-profile initiatives

Among other initiatives that have caused a public outcry across the country, for example, the proposal of State Duma Deputy Oleg Mikheev from 2014. He called for a ban on the production and sale of shoes that, in his opinion, are harmful to health. He added high-heeled shoes, sneakers, and ballet flats to the list of "harmful" shoes. According to the deputy, all of them lead to violations of the structure of the foot.

Another example from the same St. Petersburg is the law on silence, adopted in 2013: it was proposed to supplement it with the sound of cats, dogs howling, as well as loud snoring and furniture movement. After a heated discussion of the initiative on social media, lawmakers decided not to include these points in the document.

In 2024, State Duma deputy Amir Khamitov proposed banning smoking "on the go." In his opinion, tobacco smoke, which spreads when smoking on the move, turns bystanders into passive smokers. Besides, it's a bad example for the younger generation.

And in March 2025, a group of deputies drafted a bill banning esoteric advertising to protect people from psychological and financial harm. According to the document, it is proposed to ban the practices of astrology, magic, fortune-telling and energy "treatment". The authors of the initiative note that fraudsters often hide under the guise of magicians and healers who take advantage of people's gullibility.

Also this year, the deputies proposed to officially ban airlines from requiring flight attendants to wear heels. The initiative is aimed at protecting women's health, as prolonged wearing of heels can lead to health problems.